Perhaps among all scientific buildings an observatory can be attributed to the most attractive and somewhat romantic. This is a place where probably man can feel keenly not amenable to realize dimensions of the Cosmos, the eternal existence of the stars and planets in comparison with human life. If deep down you feel about the same, welcome under the cut. Here we have compiled some of the most interesting observatories and weather stations located in a very beautiful corners of our planet and these buildings are an interesting architectural patterns.
Sphinx Observatory in Switzerland
The Sphinx Observatory is located above the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. It is named after the Sphinx, a rocky summit on which it is located. At 3,571 m (11,716 ft) above mean sea level, it is one of the highest observatories in the world. Accessible to the public, it is also the second highest observation deck in Switzerland. The mountain top has been tunneled to fit an elevator which ascends to the observatory from the Jungfraujoch train station, the highest such rail station in Europe. The open viewing deck accessible to the public is adjacent to the observatory. It offers views of the Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger peaks, all within a few kilometres.
Pic du Midi Observatory in the French Pyrenees
Construction of the observatory began in 1878 on altitude 2,877 m. A 2 metre telescope, known as the Bernard Lyot Telescope was placed at the observatory in 1980 on top of a 28 metre column built off to the side to avoid wind turbulence affecting the seeing of the other telescopes. It is the largest telescope in France. The observatory also has a coronograph, which is used to study the solar corona.
Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California, USA
Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, California sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The observatory is a popular tourist attraction with an extensive array of space and science-related displays. Since the observatory opened in 1935, admission has been free, in accordance with Griffith's will.
Alasht Observatory in Iran
Alasht (meaning Eagle Sanctuary) Observatory is located on top of a mountain with nearly 2000 meteres height.
Einstein Tower in Potsdam, Germany
The Einstein Tower (German: Einsteinturm) is an astrophysical observatory in the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam, Germany built by Erich Mendelsohn. The telescope supports experiments and observations to validate (or disprove) Albert Einstein's relativity theory. The building was first conceived around 1917, built from 1919 to 1921 after a fund-raising drive, and became operational in 1924. Although Einstein never worked there, he supported the construction and operation of the telescope. It is still a working solar observatory today as part of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam. The exterior was originally conceived in concrete, but due to construction difficulties with the complex design and shortages from the war, much of the building was actually realized in brick, covered with stucco. Because the material was changed during construction of the building, the designs were not updated to accommodate them. This caused many problems, such as cracking and dampness. Extensive repair work had to be done only five years after the initial construction, overseen by Mendelsohn himself. Since then numerous renovations have been done periodically.
Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Canada
The Dominion Observatory was an astronomical observatory in Ottawa, Canada that operated from 1902 to 1970. Chief Dominion Architect David Ewart designed the Dominion Observatory in 1902. The new building was then erected near Dow's Lake on the Agriculture Department's Central Experimental Farm land. This Romanesque Revival building was completed in 1905. Its main instrument was a 15-inch refracting telescope, the largest refracting telescope ever installed in Canada. In the mid- 1990s, the rumour within Natural Resources was that consideration was given to demolish the building to save money in a time of budgetary cutbacks. However, these plans did not come to fruition. As of 2008, the building is the home to the Office of Energy Efficiency, a part of the Energy Branch, Natural Resources Canada.
Urania Sternwarte in Zürich, Switzerland
Urania Sternwarte is a public observatory in the Lindenhof quarter of Zürich, Switzerland. Its name Urania refers to the muse of astronomy in Greek mythology. Its origins base on a first observatory on the roof of the Zunfthaus zur Meisen. In 1759, so called «Astronomische Kommission» succeeded from this location for the first time, to define Culminatio solis and thus calculated the exact global location of the city of Zurich.
Caltech Submillimeter Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, U.S.
Meteo observatory on mountain Śnieżka, Poland
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
For more than 50 years, from its completion in 1963 until July 2016 when the Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China was completed, the Arecibo Observatory's 1,000-foot (305-meter) radio telescope was the world's largest single-aperture telescope. It is used in three major areas of research: radio astronomy, atmospheric science, and radar astronomy. Scientists who want to use the observatory submit proposals that are evaluated by an independent scientific board.
FAST radio telescope, China
Its official name is the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). But that acronym doesn’t do it justice. FAST is big. Ridiculously big. Its monster dish measures 500 meters (1,640 feet) across. It’s huge. FAST’s now holds the record for the world’s largest single-aperture telescope. Its dish stretches 500 meters across. Imagine about 30 soccer fields stitched together. FAST obliterates the previous record holder, the Arecibo Observatory. Arecibo’s dish stretches just 305 meters across and held the record for this type of telescope since the 1960s.
FAST hunts for life, gravitational waves and pulsars. Yep, FAST will be the lookout for E.T. FAST’s potential to discover an alien civilization will be five to ten times that of current equipment, as it can see farther and darker planets. FAST sits in radio silence. Don’t plan on watching Netflix near this telescope. Radio telescopes don’t work well if there’s any interference nearby. That’s why there is a “radio silence” area around FAST.
The Extremely Large Telescope, Chile
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will tackle the biggest scientific challenges of our time, and aim for a number of notable firsts, including tracking down Earth-like planets around other stars in the "habitable zones" where life could exist — one of the Holy Grails of modern observational astronomy.
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, Canada
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) was a neutrino observatory located 2100 m underground in Vale's Creighton Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
The detector was designed to detect solar neutrinos through their interactions with a large tank of heavy water.
Most Amazing Observatories - Beautiful Scientific Buildings